Canned Heat had nearly cancelled their
appearance entirely. Two days before the
festival, guitarist Henry Vestine clashed
with bassist Larry Taylor—and drum-
mer Adolfo de la Parra threatened to
quit over the episode. Somehow Hite
and Wilson talked him out of it and
found a substitute guitarist for Vestine,
Harvey Mandel, who stayed with the
band for about a year.AFTER WOODSTOCK: In 1970, Wilson
died at 27 of accidental acute barbitu-
rate intoxication—his body was found
on a hillside behind cofounder Hite’s
home in Topanga Canyon; as for Hite, in
1981 he was playing North Hollywood’s
Palomino Club when a fan handed
him a drug vial between sets. Believing
it to be cocaine, Hite stuck a straw in
it and snorted. Instead, it turned outCanned Heat
7:30–8:30 PM
As night began to fall, Canned Heat took
its turn. Founded in 1966 by burly and
bearded vocalist Bob “the Bear” Hite
and Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson (guitar/
harmonica/vocals), the bluesy L.A. band
had gained national popularity and was
a favorite at major festivals, with two big
hit singles, “Going Up the Country” and
“On the Road Again.” The group sang
both songs at Woodstock, along with
“I’m Her Man,” Sam Cooke’s “A Change
Is Gonna Come,” “Leaving This Town,”
and a 20-minute improvised jam called
“Woodstock Boogie.” The hour-long
set stoked the crowd, which had grown
a bit restive. At one point a concert-
goer jumped onstage, but the band was
unfazed—in fact, Hite jovially accepted
a hug. What fans didn’t know was that
DURING A CROWD-PLEASING
set by Canned Heat, an
exuberant fan jumped up
onstage, approached lead
singer Bob “the Bear” Hite,
and gave him, well, a bear hug.
In the spirit of the occasion,
Hite good-naturedly let the
guy take one of his cigarettes.
There was less joy in Mudville
following the performance of
the Grateful Dead. The band
members were—no surprise—
high when they took the stage
and delivered, by their own
admission, a distinctly subpar
performance. As the band’s
guitarist and spiritual leader
Jerry Garcia (opposite) would
confess when recalling it later,
“We were plumb atrocious.”56 LIFE WOODSTOCK